“Most critics will give any movie three and a half stars if it flatters their self-image.” That’s interior monologe from the title character in HowardCantour.com, in which Jim Gaffigan plays schlubby film critic and self-styled “warrior” Howard Cantour. But the guy’s voice is far more confident and confrontational when passed through a keyboard than when uttered in person. Shia LaBeouf directed the short, which gently mocks Gaffigan’s critic as it observes him flatulently mocking a film director.

This short takes a lot of well-aimed shots at the culture of film criticism and marketing, as it also indulges in hyperbole of its own. In time, it also cuts to the heart of how some people interact with films — noting that lines can blur between wanting to be moved and actually being affected by something. Watch below.

Update: This is getting messy, as the film is very obviously an adaptation of a comic story by Daniel Clowes, with no credit given to the creator. And Clowes now says he’s never talked to LaBeouf.

Update 2: In a string of tweets, embedded below, LaBeouf has offered an extended “apology.”